Mowbray Rangers to host Melton’s first quidditch tournament

The Queen’s Cup will be the first tournament of its kind to be held in the Melton area and will be held on Saturday and Sunday involving six teams in a round-robin format.

It is being organised by Velociraptors Quidditch Club who count two former Mowbray players among their number, Bill and Michael Orridge, who will be at this event helping with coaching and refereeing.

Bill has represented Team UK for the last four years, captaining them to Gold at the 2017 European Games in Oslo.

Quidditch remains the only mixed gender, full-contact sport and is played across the world from Britain to Australia and the United States.

It pits two teams of seven against each other in a fast-paced, physical game where players can charge, wrap and tackle each other and also show off their ball-handling skills, all while riding a ‘broom’.

Teams have four ‘quaffle’ players, trying to score goals and defend their own goals, two beaters who use their ‘bludger’ to eliminate opposing players, and a seeker who tries to catch the golden snitch.

While quidditch is usually a mixed-gender sport, the Queen’s Cup is available to play exclusively for women.

Velociraptors captain, Jay Holmes, said: “Quidditch is pioneering in its approach to mixed gender sport with the introduction of full contact, but still falls short of it’s representation of women.

“We wanted to host an event which could showcase the amazing athleticism and ability our female players have in a fun, but competitive environment.

“I’m really excited to see all of the teams play and can’t wait to see the standard all of the players show.”

A Mowbray Rangers spokesman said: “We are proud to be supporting this cause – Velociraptors are a team local to us, and we are hoping to help them raise the profile of quidditch as a sport in our community.

“Quidditch is one of the fastest developing sports in the world with teams across Britain competing against each other.

“Velociraptors Quidditch Club are two-time national champions and three-time regional champions with some of the best players in Europe on their team.”

The first game is at 10am and entry is free.

For more details on Velociraptors Quidditch Club, email [email protected]